


Unbridled

by Turn_of_the_Sonic_Screw



Series: October Ficlet Challenge [6]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Centaurs, Fluff and Humor, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-03
Updated: 2017-10-03
Packaged: 2019-01-08 22:53:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12263733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Turn_of_the_Sonic_Screw/pseuds/Turn_of_the_Sonic_Screw
Summary: In which the Doctor is slightly less human than usual.Prompt: Centaur AU; pairing: Eleventh Doctor/Amy Pond/Rory Williams





	Unbridled

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt, beta, and title by imaginary_golux. Seriously, beloved, centaurs? I now know a lot more about horse colors and patterns than I did the day before.

Fortunately, all three inhabitants of the TARDIS were standing upright when the ship went _Lurch! Bang! Hiss!_ and took a graceful nosedive through a dimensional rift.

The Doctor was welding a panel in the console room. "Honestly, Pond, if I've told you once, I've told you 3 decillion times: high heels will ruin your ankles," he called, not taking his eyes from his work as a clicking gait approached him.

A flustered Rory cleared his throat. Behind him, Amy crossed her arms over her chest, too angry to speak. "We're... You're..." He gestures below his waist.

The Doctor blinks. "Amy, Rory, I don't mean to be rude, but didn't you have fewer legs this morning?"

Amy had reached her boiling point. "This morning we weren't bloody centaurs!" 

The Doctor, flustered, looked down. "Ah. Well, strictly speaking, _I'm_ a centaur." He flexed his legs, which were six in number and looked like a more solidly-built giraffe in color and pattern. "You two are just some weird hybrid of human and horse. I mean, honestly, horses, with those spindly legs--"

"Sorry, can I just say that I have a lot of questions right now," interjected Rory, who was trying his level best to keep them everything straight.

"Not least of which is how to turn us back," Amy fumed, rearing up in anger. She blinked. "Okay that is actually kind of cool. We can table turning back until Rory's said his piece."

"Jolly good," said Rory, who was always happier when his wife and space boyfriend weren't trying to kill each other. "So: is this seriously the first time you noticed we had hooves?"

The Doctor blushed. "To be fair, I am usually a mess of legs. And let's just say I'm a trifle less attached to this physical form than you might think." He frowned. "I did wonder why my braces had gone loose," he added, toying with the free ends.

Amy rolled her eyes. This from a man who could tell you the year by licking a rock. "Hang on, you said you were the only proper centaur. What do you mean by that?" She asked, hoping for a story.

"Of course, Gallifreyan centaurs came first." ("Typical," the humans mouthed.) "And they would be hybrids of a Time Lord and a vrestomp. Sort of a bit like a giraffe, only not." He smiled, a bit dreamy-eyed. "The vrestomps used to roam the savannas of my world, galloping gracefully through the grass, stripping the silver leaves and emerald berries from the trees with their mandibles..." He stopped and leaned against a railing. "Not anymore, of course." Unconsciously wringing his hands, he trotted over to the console. "I've had an idea," he announced, beaming once more and furiously operating the TARDIS. "Brilliant idea! Should have thought of it sooner."

Amy and Rory exchanged looks. The Doctor didn't always have a plan, but when he did, it was always a good one. No sense asking questions--it wasn’t as though they would understand anyway.

Before they had even realized it, the TARDIS had landed and the doors were open and the Doctor was leading them out onto a steppe because some things never changed. 

Amy took a moment to appreciate herself and Rory, physically. She’s a bright pinto chestnut, and Rory was a gorgeous golden buckskin. (Shut up, she read a lot of books of horses when she was a little girl.) As random mutations go, being turned into a centaur wasn’t the worst thing in the world, and the way the wind flows through her hair was divine.

She let the sun and the wind drift over her like the hours. Rory (lovely, practical Rory) finally spoke up, shaking her free of her galloping reverie. “How much further, Doctor?”

The Doctor blinked. “Oh, as long as you care to run, really.”

Amy slowed to a stop. “You mean we aren’t looking for a cure?”

“No, no, don’t be silly! We’re in a different universe, so once we go back we should be fine. I just thought we should take advantage of it while we can.” Rory was just about to agree when the Doctor continued. “You know, before Amy goes into heat.”

Rory spluttered and Amy laughed. The Doctor didn’t seem particularly affected one way or the other. “Should be sunny for another two hours,” the Doctor offered. “Shall we?”

“Yes,” Amy and Rory said, one after the other, and they cantered off together across the grass.


End file.
